Plot lines and devices used by every sitcom ever.

[Bennyboy]

Friend borrows money from other friend. Loaner gets upset but the way loanee spends money. Hilarity ensues.

[TCJ70]

1. Supied fat guy marries witty beautiful wife...

...hilarity also ensues.

[JVS]

6. That's a premise not a plotline, supied

;-)

[TCJ70]

14. Crap, now I'm the stupid guy...heh

[krispos42]

44. It's my only hope!!!!!!

:-)

[MrCoffee]

2. Character whines endlessly about relationships.

Hilarity fails to ensue.

[DS1]

3. Younger of more than one child has problems with bullies at school

[poiuytsister]

62. Son in the family getting beaten up

and it turns out to be by a girl. The first time I saw this was on the Courtship of Eddies Father. Eddie gets beaten up by a kid named Jody. Turns out to be a girl/Jodi --wait for it...
and was played by Jodi Foster.

Next time I saw the same plot it was that obnoxious Ritchie getting bitchslapped on Dick Van Dyke.

[DarkTirade]

4. Teenager tries to find some logical way to deal with having two dates at once

without them finding out about each other.

Hilarity and comedy of errors ensues.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

29. That is the oldest and stalest of all sitcom plotlines

:puke:

[DarkTirade]

47. Hence why I thought of it first. :P

I don't watch many sitcoms. But even I knew that one.

[JVS]

5. Evil twin appears.

[Ariana Celeste]

7. unexpected visit from the dreaded mother in law

oh the hilarious confrontation

[YankeyMCC]

8. You get into a car accident but

the other party has no insurance and the judge decries that he or she become your butler.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

34. HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Fucking hell, that was good.

:D

[Bennyboy]

9. Former G/F. B/F comes back into life......

And subtrefuge, jealousy ensues.

[KG]

10. middle age sitcom couple w/ older teen kids about to leave the house - wife gets pregnant

husband always says 'how did that happen?'. means the shows' writers have run out of ideas. boredom ensues.

[Deja Q]

11. These days, somebody passes gas, surrounding characters groan,

audience would be surprised if it didn't happen.

[Bennyboy]

12. Marraige Counseling....

Usually sparked by another couple's trip the counselor.

Pathos ensues.

[Swede]

13. Men is dresses.

Eventually during the run of the series one of the guys wears a dress and make-up. Funny stuff.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. You're asked to babysit your best friend's kid, and he invades Iraq...

Fucking kills me every time.

:sarcasm:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

16. One spouse thinks other spouse is cheating. Turns out the...

..."cheating" spouse was really planning a nice surprise for the other one.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. That's the second oldest sitcom plot

:eyes:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

35. What's the first?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

38. See my post #29

;-)

[Bennyboy]

17. Favorite landmark is about to be destroyed by big business....

a park, bookstore, shop, restaurant, bar.. usually someone in the group of characters ahd a financial stake in the destruction.

Capitalism ensues.

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. 'Something suddenly came up'

[Gidney N Cloyd]

19. Character sneaks cute puppy or kitten into home and tries to hide it from landlord or

...parent or other authority figure. Roommates or family members discover pet one by one and help in hiding it.
At some point the pet will make a noise while the authority figure and the hider are talking and the hider will have to work a 'bark' or 'meow' into the conversation ("Uh, that was me. I said it must be RUFF running an apartment building this size")
Eventually the authority figure finds out but it turns out he/she's got a soft spot for puppies or kittens and helps find a more appropriate home for it.

Possible plot twists: replace puppy/kitten with a more exotic pet, a school mascot or a space alien.

[Taverner]

20. A very special episode of X

X decides to try X because of peer pressure, and gets into trouble.

[Bennyboy]

21. Couple takes special day to rediscover their romance only...

to find that things are just fine the way they are.....Both fall asleep without any rekindling of said romance.

ZZZZZZZZ's ensue.

[Robb]

22. Parents trust child when they go out of town

Child betrays trust through series of small steps. Parents return early.

Child either gets caught or doesn't, somehow learns lesson regardless. :shrug:

[Orangepeel]

23. A holiday episode that rips off "A Christmas Carol"

[Orangepeel]

24. Vacation to Hawaii

complete with luau and some sort of ancient curse

[Enrique]

54. or Disney World

if it's an ABC show.

[KamaAina]

60. This was the origin of the phrase "to jump the shark"

meaning to have peaked and be "over the hill".

When Happy Days did its Hawai'i episode, Fonzie went waterskiing and, yup, jumped the shark.

[CreekDog]

25. Sitcom diet

one member of a household goes on a diet, typically the dad at the urging of usually the wife.

lavish dinner is served to everybody but the dieter, though in front of the dieter. dinner is typically large juicy steaks with mashed potatoes and butter. the dieter is served a carrot or celery and a few peas and eats it sullenly while watching everyone else pig out.

i think this started with the diet episode of I Love Lucy.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

36. I even saw that one in a "Hollywood Canteen" movie from the early 40's.

Occasional twist would be trying to put some weight on a character.

[IronLionZion]

51. That sounds like every meal at my parents' house

You won't believe how much I hate the holidays. :grr:

[Tindalos]

26. Somebody does something stupid and

tries to cover it up but makes it worse and then spends the ENTIRE excruciating episode trying to fix, un-do, redo, and ... :boring:


Oh, wait, that describes most sitcoms. My bad.

[Critters2]

27. Two dates on the same night. Must run from one table to another in same restaurant. nt

[Bennyboy]

28. High School Reunion

Many possibilities. Nerd gets hit on by the cool chick. Nerd takes hot wife and becomes part of the in crowd. Old flame shows up and flahback ensues...

[EstimatedProphet]

31. Someone overhears another character in a conversation and assumes she is pregnant

I just defined the entire run of Three's Company.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. Nerdy kid likes uncool things like reading books and listening to jazz or classical

Parents are worried.

Fortunately, the sitcom regulars take the nerdy kid in hand and teach him/her to play some sport. The glasses come off, and in the next scene, the nerd is fashionably dressed and dating someone hot.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

46. Plot alternative: Nerdy GIRL is shown how to >

> dress and wear makeup. Soon she's a threat to the regular character who coached her and is even competing against the regular character for homecoming queen or prom queen.

[deucemagnet]

33. A blow to the head causes amnesia.

Hilarity ensues. A second blow to the head cures amnesia, and all is back to normal.

[Richard Steele]

37. Character has unpleasant incident with stranger; stranger turns out to be spouse's boss/relative.nm

[Generic Brad]

39. Problems sharing the same space

So a dividing line is drawn down the middle of the room. And wouldn't you know it. Each person needs something that is on the other side of the line.

[Seashell Eyes]

40. People walking in on other people kissing

Whenever people kiss, the unseen audience says, "Whooooooooo!"

[RadiationTherapy]

41. Someone gets knocked out cold from one punch or hit from a hard object

occasionally "for their own good". Some sort or sacrifice or rescue mission ensues.

[Ivan Sputnik]

42. Guess who's coming to dinner?

Your very proper boss/important client. And your family members are all wackos.

[harmonicon]

43. cabin

it usually involves skiing, and/or getting snowed it, but there's definitely always a cabin.

[bettyellen]

45. the gang finds reason to reminesce @ younger, wilder days- gratutitous flashbacks ensue

retro hair and clothes abound.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

48. Distant relative leaves character something odd in his will.

It seems worthless but turns out to be something financially or emotionally valuable.

[NewJeffCT]

49. Pregnant woman must be rushed to the hospital to give birth

hilarity ensues

[Bennyboy]

50. Family Reunion!

Gotta love them. Flahsbacks, rivalries ensue...

[Runcible Spoon]

53. yeah..the classic Freel Spirit but Irresponsible Uncle Shows Up After a Decade of World Travel

takes the kids out for adventurous and possibly irresponsible partying; may include strip bars. Father intervenes angrily, kids become resentful. Uncle goes on wild drunken spree, crashes car, has revelation about responsibility. Father forgives him, moral lesson learned, father does something "hip" but ultimately lame with kids; skating rink and/or tix to New Kids on the Block possibly involved.

[WinkyDink]

52. Main and minor characters flirt with a relationship. Hilarity ensues and then poignant reality sets

in.

Elaine/Rev. Jim
Frasier/Roz

Also:
Major character mistaken for gay.
Alex/Bar scene
Frasier/opera buff (Patrick Stewart)
Jack/Mr. Roper

[Enrique]

55. characters that don't like each other get stuck in an elevator together

or similar cramped space. They learn more about each other and learn to understand each other (but it's forgotten by next week).

[mitchum]

56. Characters go on a crosscountry killing spree with satanic overtones...

"But I thought it was YOUR idea!"
good times

[Runcible Spoon]

57. Long Lost ex (girlfriend usually) shows up, possible as seemingly benign business interest.

position requires much time spent with husband. Ex GF is usually newly successful, rich, gorgeous, newly single and flirty. Father starts wearing old clothes and listening to old music from time of original relationsip; father spends too muhc time with old girlfriend making wife jealous. Wife has crisis of desirability and attempts a makeover, failed flirting of her own, or hilarious girl's night out. Wife becomes resentful and emotionally rejects husband. Ex girlfriend tries unsuccessfully to seduce husband; wife witnesses husband's rejection of ex GF. Newly kindled love, candlelit dinner, possible reaffirmation of marital vows.

[Bucky]

58. Loveabe grouch gets trapped in elevator with pregnant lady who then goes into labor

Audience says "awwww" a lot

[Jade Fox]

59. One spouse does something stupid and hides it from the other....

who of course finds out.

Really, this is THE MOST COMMON PLOT since "I Love Lucy".

[Bennyboy]

61. Guy has book overdue for ten years......

and the library cops tracks him down, while neighbor makes it with comely librarian.

[triguy46]

63. Mistaken identities. For the English majors here, and other book lovers...

it is my opinion that Dickens Pickwick Papers contains the seeds of every sit com plot ever written. Your thoughts?

[conscious evolution]

64. ABC shows invariable go to Disney World.

All shows will have some type of episode fearuring a product or place owned by the network or parent company.

[sarge43]

65. Cute couple start off hating one another, fall in love, decide to get

married (having used up three seasons here). His bachelor party is a disaster; her's a riot.